ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. – One person was taken to the hospital Thursday afternoon after being rescued by the St. Johns County Fire Rescue following an hour-long search at St. Augustine Beach.
According to fire rescue, two people were in distress in the water, but the other person was able to swim back to shore. The incident happened near the A Street beach access point.
According to a witness, a man and a woman were visiting the beach from Michigan for spring break. They said they saw an unresponsive man being pulled from the water after he was swept away by a current.
Witnesses also called the incident emotional and traumatizing as they looked on when first responders arrived at the scene.
Massimo Axaopoulos and Stavros Kashi were taking surfing lessons with other surfers when they first noticed a man and a woman struggling in the water.
“From the corner of my eye, I see people raising their hands and I heard, ‘Somebody please help,’” Axaopolous said.
Kashi said he was worried because he didn’t think the two were going to make it.
The two boys along with other relatives alerted two surf instructors about the people struggling in the water. Both instructors went to help the woman in distress.
“They got the girl. By the time they pulled her out of the water, a wave crashed on the guy, and he sank under the water,” Harry Kashi said.
Nearly an hour after police and fire and rescue crews arrived to look for the male swimmer that was swept away, they pulled him out of the water. Witnesses said the current carried his body to an area near a pier, which was about a mile south of where he first went under.
The unresponsive man was taken to hospital where, according to sources who remained in contact with the surf instructors, the man was placed on life support until a next of kin could be notified.